Bull_Dog
06-06-2013, 05:52 PM
Truckee River
The Truckee River is in great shape right now and it looks like for the rest of the season. The National Weather service drought report indicates that the Truckee River should see normal flows for the remainder of 2013. This is great news, especially because other area streams and rivers are not going to see their normal flows. (See reports below)
The Truckee is starting to level out near its normal summer time flows. This is early in the year for this to be the case but it has really helped the fishing. In California, the flows are already low from Lake Tahoe through the town of Truckee and Glenshire. Once you get to Boca Bridge and down through Reno from there the river has much more water in it which is normally the case. There have been some PMD’s, Carpenter Ants and a few March Brown’s flying around on the California side and the Caddis are out in force in the evenings around Reno. There have actually been some anglers wet wading the river already. In the mornings, Nymphing either with an indicator or High Stick style has been really good. Stoneflies with a multitude of options for droppers like Caddis, Little Yellow Stones and PMD’s are a good way to go. If you are fishing downstream of the Boca Bridge don’t be afraid to use a BB split shot or even two. If you are fishing with an indicator in the lower river make sure to use one that is large enough to hold everything up and go a little deeper than you think. The water is still running pretty fast. The evenings in Nevada have been really fun after the sun gets off the water. The Caddis/Little Yellow Stone hatch has started and there are fish keying in on them. The last hour of light is the best time to be out there for sure. The Caddis have been on the small side so far and even going down to a size 18 is worth a shot. The next few weeks should be really good for dry fly fishing on the Truckee. Flows are: Town of Truckee 220 CFS, Boca Bridge 592 CFS, Farad 683 CFS, Reno 537 CFS.
East Walker River
The East Walker is running really low for this time of year at 68 CFS. Normal flows for this time of year are usually in the 150 CFS to 300 CFS range. The NWS report only has the East Walker at about 23% for normal flows this year. Bridgeport reservoir is at 37% of capacity. This is going to be a tough summer on the East Walker. Now is the time to go if you are going to get some time in on the East Walker this year.
The fishing right now has been pretty good. There has been a pretty decent Caddis hatch in the evenings on the California side after the sun gets off the water. During the day Nymphing with Caddis Pupa in lighter colors has been very effective. On the Nevada side Dry dropper set-ups with a Stone fly or even a Hopper pattern and a Caddis or a San Juan Worm as a dropper is hard to beat. Another great way to fish the East Walker right now is to take two rods or two people. Start out with a dry and make a few casts around the edges, seams and shallow areas. Be careful approaching an area, you will be surprised at how many fish you spook. Set down the Dry fly rod and go back through with a nymph rig with a small Stonefly and a Caddis or San Juan dropper. The air temperatures are already affecting the water temperatures and the best time to fish is in the morning up until about lunch and then again at sunset.
Little Truckee River
It appears as though the Little Truckee will not be affected too much this year by the low snowpack the last two winters. It does look like the flows will be on the low side for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Some of it depends on where they are drawing water from to keep the Truckee flowing. All the reservoirs including Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake, Prosser and Stampede will be called on to help.
The Little Truckee is still running around 200 CFS. This is down from 400 CFS just 4 days ago. We will have to keep an eye on the flows over the next week to see where they settle out. At 200 CFS the water is back in the banks and should start to fish pretty good once the water stops dropping. Warmer air temperatures over the past few days coupled with lower water could get the PMD’s going any time. Right now Nymphing with smaller bugs and smaller tippet in the size 18-20 and 5X range is a good way to start. Midges, Baetis, PMD’s and San Juan Worms are worth trying. As the water gets lower and clearer it is going to be way more important to take on a more stealthy approach at the Little Truckee.
Pyramid Lake
June 2nd and we are still talking about Pyramid Lake. Cooler weather over the past couple of weeks really got the fishing going again at Pyramid. As the Summit Lake strain fish finished spawning and seemed to move out into deeper water, a bunch of Pilot Peak strain fish showed up around the North half of the lake. As more and more of the Pilot Peak Lahontan Cutthroats get put in the lake over the next few years it is going to be interesting to see if this late spring appearance is going to be normal. Warmer weather over the weekend slowed things a bit but there are still fish being caught from shore. Red Maholo midges are still hard to beat if you can find any anywhere. Just about all the fly fishing retailers sold through their stock of them long ago. Look for beaches on the North end of the lake that have access to deeper water. Spider Point, Shot Dog and Monument are all worth a try. Fish your nymphs as deep as possible without dragging the bottom. Shooting head set-ups are also working well. The faster the sink rate the better. Black Wooly’s with White Beetles as droppers is the way to go. This late bite could end anytime so get out to the lake ASAP. Windy days are the best.
Davis Lake
After some amazing few days of Carpenter Ant fishing about a week ago, Davis seemed to slow down a bit over the weekend. The Blood Midge hatch has been a little off for the past few days, which was going pretty good before that. Anglers that have been having the best success have been fishing Blood Midge patterns in 14-18 feet of water. Damsels fished in deep water are also starting to produce. Weed beds are starting to form with way warmer weather ahead the Damsels are going to get going any time. The next few weeks should see big changes for Davis. This should be a great year.
Rob Anderson
rob@bucketlistflyfishing.com
renoflyfishingoutfitters.com
The Truckee River is in great shape right now and it looks like for the rest of the season. The National Weather service drought report indicates that the Truckee River should see normal flows for the remainder of 2013. This is great news, especially because other area streams and rivers are not going to see their normal flows. (See reports below)
The Truckee is starting to level out near its normal summer time flows. This is early in the year for this to be the case but it has really helped the fishing. In California, the flows are already low from Lake Tahoe through the town of Truckee and Glenshire. Once you get to Boca Bridge and down through Reno from there the river has much more water in it which is normally the case. There have been some PMD’s, Carpenter Ants and a few March Brown’s flying around on the California side and the Caddis are out in force in the evenings around Reno. There have actually been some anglers wet wading the river already. In the mornings, Nymphing either with an indicator or High Stick style has been really good. Stoneflies with a multitude of options for droppers like Caddis, Little Yellow Stones and PMD’s are a good way to go. If you are fishing downstream of the Boca Bridge don’t be afraid to use a BB split shot or even two. If you are fishing with an indicator in the lower river make sure to use one that is large enough to hold everything up and go a little deeper than you think. The water is still running pretty fast. The evenings in Nevada have been really fun after the sun gets off the water. The Caddis/Little Yellow Stone hatch has started and there are fish keying in on them. The last hour of light is the best time to be out there for sure. The Caddis have been on the small side so far and even going down to a size 18 is worth a shot. The next few weeks should be really good for dry fly fishing on the Truckee. Flows are: Town of Truckee 220 CFS, Boca Bridge 592 CFS, Farad 683 CFS, Reno 537 CFS.
East Walker River
The East Walker is running really low for this time of year at 68 CFS. Normal flows for this time of year are usually in the 150 CFS to 300 CFS range. The NWS report only has the East Walker at about 23% for normal flows this year. Bridgeport reservoir is at 37% of capacity. This is going to be a tough summer on the East Walker. Now is the time to go if you are going to get some time in on the East Walker this year.
The fishing right now has been pretty good. There has been a pretty decent Caddis hatch in the evenings on the California side after the sun gets off the water. During the day Nymphing with Caddis Pupa in lighter colors has been very effective. On the Nevada side Dry dropper set-ups with a Stone fly or even a Hopper pattern and a Caddis or a San Juan Worm as a dropper is hard to beat. Another great way to fish the East Walker right now is to take two rods or two people. Start out with a dry and make a few casts around the edges, seams and shallow areas. Be careful approaching an area, you will be surprised at how many fish you spook. Set down the Dry fly rod and go back through with a nymph rig with a small Stonefly and a Caddis or San Juan dropper. The air temperatures are already affecting the water temperatures and the best time to fish is in the morning up until about lunch and then again at sunset.
Little Truckee River
It appears as though the Little Truckee will not be affected too much this year by the low snowpack the last two winters. It does look like the flows will be on the low side for the rest of the summer and into the fall. Some of it depends on where they are drawing water from to keep the Truckee flowing. All the reservoirs including Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake, Prosser and Stampede will be called on to help.
The Little Truckee is still running around 200 CFS. This is down from 400 CFS just 4 days ago. We will have to keep an eye on the flows over the next week to see where they settle out. At 200 CFS the water is back in the banks and should start to fish pretty good once the water stops dropping. Warmer air temperatures over the past few days coupled with lower water could get the PMD’s going any time. Right now Nymphing with smaller bugs and smaller tippet in the size 18-20 and 5X range is a good way to start. Midges, Baetis, PMD’s and San Juan Worms are worth trying. As the water gets lower and clearer it is going to be way more important to take on a more stealthy approach at the Little Truckee.
Pyramid Lake
June 2nd and we are still talking about Pyramid Lake. Cooler weather over the past couple of weeks really got the fishing going again at Pyramid. As the Summit Lake strain fish finished spawning and seemed to move out into deeper water, a bunch of Pilot Peak strain fish showed up around the North half of the lake. As more and more of the Pilot Peak Lahontan Cutthroats get put in the lake over the next few years it is going to be interesting to see if this late spring appearance is going to be normal. Warmer weather over the weekend slowed things a bit but there are still fish being caught from shore. Red Maholo midges are still hard to beat if you can find any anywhere. Just about all the fly fishing retailers sold through their stock of them long ago. Look for beaches on the North end of the lake that have access to deeper water. Spider Point, Shot Dog and Monument are all worth a try. Fish your nymphs as deep as possible without dragging the bottom. Shooting head set-ups are also working well. The faster the sink rate the better. Black Wooly’s with White Beetles as droppers is the way to go. This late bite could end anytime so get out to the lake ASAP. Windy days are the best.
Davis Lake
After some amazing few days of Carpenter Ant fishing about a week ago, Davis seemed to slow down a bit over the weekend. The Blood Midge hatch has been a little off for the past few days, which was going pretty good before that. Anglers that have been having the best success have been fishing Blood Midge patterns in 14-18 feet of water. Damsels fished in deep water are also starting to produce. Weed beds are starting to form with way warmer weather ahead the Damsels are going to get going any time. The next few weeks should see big changes for Davis. This should be a great year.
Rob Anderson
rob@bucketlistflyfishing.com
renoflyfishingoutfitters.com